SAN DIEGO – A more than six-hour standoff between a San Diego police SWAT team and a domestic-violence suspect holed up in an apartment complex in University Heights came to an end peacefully early Wednesday morning.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Nathan Lopez, was wanted on two outstanding warrants for rape and kidnapping charges out of Riverside County, according to San Diego police.
Police were responding to a 911 call at around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at an apartment off Arizona Street, near El Cajon Boulevard. The caller, Lopez's girlfriend, claimed she and Lopez were engaged in an argument. As officers were responding they learned that she had left the apartment and the suspect was barricaded alone inside.
SWAT officers evacuated the apartment complex and an adjacent building.
They were able to make contact with the suspect by phone. He reportedly claimed that he was in Vista and would come out of the apartment after a smoke break.
The suspect finally surrendered shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Police did not confirm if he was armed.
Lopez will be booked into the San Diego Jail. The exact charges he faces and the reason for the initial 911 call were not immediately released.
